Rational pays every one of its employees a £440 bonus for going the extra mile

Every employee of Rational worldwide has been awarded a one-off bonus of €500 (£440) after the company’s turnover increased almost 15% last year.

The growth, which boosted its sales to €702m (£620m) globally, exceeded its original forecasts of around 13%.

Rational said the payment, which has been awarded to every staff member who worked for it throughout 2017, has been a practice of the company for many years.

CEO Dr Peter Stadelmann, explained the cash was a “token of appreciation” that allowed employees to share in the “above-average” success.

“This is our way of saying thank you for the extraordinary commitment and the one or other extra shift that the unexpectedly high business volume called for,” he said.

Rational employs 1,900 staff globally, so the gesture is estimated to have cost the combi oven maker around £950,000 (£838,000).

However, the pay-out won’t harm its profits too much. Earnings before interest and taxes soared 12% to €188m (£166m).

Rational’s revenue performance last year marks the first time the business has ever exceeded the €700m mark. It said that all regions around the world contributed to the development, with the American markets in particular singled out for being “growth drivers”, with sales rising more than 20%.

Its Frima business also contributed to the success as sales rose 22%.

Rational created 170 new jobs last year, with more than half of them in Germany where the company is based.